System for assembling aircraft

Abstract

A system automatically moves large scale components of a vehicle such as an airplane, into final assembly alignment. A noncontact measurement system determines the locations of aerodynamically significant features on each of the components. The measured locations of the components are used to control an automated jacking system that includes assembly jacks for individually moving the components into assembly alignment. A system is provided for calculating the cruise configuration of the vehicle “as-built” and for transferring the cruise configuration into the vehicle where it is recorded in the form of a physical monument.

1. A system for assembling components of an aerospace vehicle, comprising:
 a locating system for determining the locations of each of the components; 
 an automated jacking system including assembly jacks for moving the components into assembly alignment based on the determined locations of the components; and, 
 means for determining cruise orientation of the aerospace vehicle based on final assembly locations of the components determined by the locating system. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 means for transferring the cruise orientation of the aerospace vehicle into a physical reference located inside the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2 , wherein the means for transferring the cruise orientation of the aerospace vehicle includes:
 a tool positioned outside the aerospace vehicle and including a tool reference surface, 
 means for moving the tool reference surface to an orientation corresponding to the determined cruise orientation, and, 
 means for recording the orientation of the tool reference surface. 
 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the means for moving the tool reference surface includes servo motors for moving the tool reference surface about pitch, roll and yaw axes. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the means for recording the orientation of the tool reference surface includes an inertial reference unit, and 
 the tool reference surface is removably mounted on the tool to allow the tool reference surface and the inertial reference unit to be moved into the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the locating system includes:
 a measurement system configured to simultaneously determine locations of a plurality of features of the components, the measurement system being located separate from the assembly jacks, and 
 a data processing system configured to determine relative positions of the components in a coordinate system of the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 6 , wherein the measurement system includes:
 a plurality of transmitters arranged in a constellation, and 
 a plurality of component targets disposed about the plurality of components in a plurality of predetermined locations that are known in the coordinate system of the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7 , wherein the measurement system further includes a plurality of reference targets that are arranged in an assembly area in a plurality of predetermined positions that are known in a coordinate system of the assembly area. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the automated jacking system includes a system for computing assembly jack locations to align the components for assembly, the jack location computing system including:
 an input interface configured to receive data from the locating system representing the initial locations of the components to be moved and a desired final location for the components to be moved, 
 a computer processor operatively coupled to the input interface, the computer processor including—
 a first computer processing component configured to automatically determine initial locations of the components to be moved and the final location from the initial location data, 
 a second computer processing component configured to automatically determine motion to align the components to be moved with the final location, 
 a third computer processing component configured to automatically determine optimal displacements of assembly jacks to produce the determined motion, 
 a fourth computer processing component configured to, after the components have been moved, automatically determine location of the moved components at a final assembled position, and 
 
 a display device operatively coupled to the computer processor. 
 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the means for determining the cruise orientation of the aerospace vehicle, as-built includes:
 a first computer processing component configured to automatically compute deviation from nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle, and 
 a second computer processing component configured to apply the computed deviation from the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle to the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       11. A method of assembling components of an aerospace vehicle, comprising:
 determining the locations of the components of the aerospace vehicle using a locating system; 
 moving the components of the aerospace vehicle into assembly alignment using assembly jacks, including controlling the movements of the assembly jacks based on the determined locations of the components; and, 
 determining cruise orientation of the aerospace vehicle based on the final assembly locations of the components determined by the locating system. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein determining the locations of the components includes:
 simultaneously determining locations of a plurality of features of the components, and 
 determining relative positions of the plurality of components in a coordinate system of the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining locations of a plurality of transmitters in a constellation of transmitters, including determining azimuth and elevation of the plurality of transmitters relative to locations of a plurality of reference targets that are arranged in an assembly area in a plurality of predetermined positions that are known in a coordinate system of the assembly area. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 preparing the plurality of components for measurement, including disposing a plurality of component targets about the components in a plurality of predetermined locations that are known in the coordinate system of the aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 11 , further comprising simultaneously determining locations of a plurality of features of the components includes simultaneously determining azimuth and elevation of a plurality of component targets arranged in a plurality of predetermined positions on the components relative to the locations of a plurality of transmitters. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 determining the locations of the components includes automatically determining initial locations of the components and a desired final location for the components from initial position measurement data for the components and the final location, 
 moving the components includes automatically determining motion to align the components with the final location, and automatically determining optimal displacements of the assembly jacks to produce the determined motion, and 
 wherein, after the components have been moved, determining the locations of the components further includes automatically determining location of the components at final assembled positions. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 11 , wherein determining the cruise orientation includes:
 inputting nominal orientation of an as-built aerospace vehicle, 
 automatically computing deviation from the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle, and 
 applying the computed deviation from the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle to the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 17 , wherein automatically computing deviation from the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle includes:
 inputting angular variation of at least one aerodynamically significant feature of the as-built aerospace vehicle relative to the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle, and 
 automatically transforming the angular variation of the at least one aerodynamically significant feature into angular offsets of the nominal orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein automatically transforming the angular variation includes:
 formatting the angular variation of the at least one aerodynamically significant feature of the as-built aerospace vehicle into an input vector, 
 formatting a plurality of transformation factors that correlate a plurality of angular variations of aerodynamically significant features with angular offsets of components of cruise orientation into a transformation matrix, and 
 multiplying the transformation matrix by the input vector to obtain an output vector with angular offsets of components of the cruise orientation of the as-built aerospace vehicle.